The inspirations and origins for our stories.
Erik Goldsmith’s story “Misalignment” was published in Metaphorosis on Friday, 11 October 2019. I started thinking about the idea of moral certainty, and what would be a way that I could know I was a good person. Some plaque or certificate or neural implant, something that would allow me to put all my fears to rest. So, I imagined a story where someone was constantly worrying about their own potential for harm; someone who would …
Kathryn Weaver’s story “Darling” was published in Metaphorosis on Friday, 4 October 2019. “Darling” is part of a sprawling, shared-world/co-writing project that my wife Emily and I have been developing for a number of years. The Child in the House, as we call it – after Walter Pater’s Imaginary Portraits – is a series of stories about two generations of magicians and mediums. “Slip Stitch” – from the October 2019 issue of Timeworn Lit – …
Carly Racklin’s story “The Guardian of Werifest Park” was published in Metaphorosis on Friday, 27 September 2019. “The Guardian of Werifest Park” might be my oldest and most revised story. A long time ago I had a dream in which a girl beckoned a giant shadowy creature out from a line of trees, fearsome to others but to her, a friend. I’ve always been fond of the idea of “forest spirits” or magical creatures that …
Matt Hornsby’s story “A Final Resting Place” was published in Metaphorosis on Friday, 20 September 2019. This story came together from a couple of different ideas I had. I remember reading ‘The World Without Us’ by Alan Weisman around the time of a train journey I took across Hungary and Romania, and looking out the window at the landscape – already much wilder than anything in the UK – and imagining it returned to nature …
Peter T. Donahue’s story “Favorites from Here and Abroad” was published in Metaphorosis on Friday, 13 September 2019. I wanted to write a piece of speculative fiction that drew from my classroom philosophy. As a writing teacher, I operate on the assumption that reality is socially constructed. Whether or not this is true, the stance helps me to create more effective writing assignments and give more effective feedback. So, I wondered, in the future, would …
B. Morris Allen’s story “Some Sun and Delilah” was published in Metaphorosis on Friday, 6 September 2019. I wanted to write a story in the style of Richard Cowper (John Murry), and was specifically inspired by his novelette “Incident at Huacaloc”, about a couple who visit an old temple with troubling results. I stole those elements and some of the feel of the story, though the rest is quite different. I don’t remember now whether …
